The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India issued a stark warning on July 28 about escalating violence against religious minorities, accusing authorities of selective law enforcement and constitutional violations while communal tensions rise across the country.
In an official press release (Ref: CBCI/PR/25-18), the bishops expressed concern about the “communalisation of independent institutions” and rising “majoritarianism” threatening India’s constitutional framework.
The CBCI detailed what it described as a “climate of hostility” gripping minority communities, highlighting two recent incidents involving incitement to violence and discriminatory policing.
The bishops drew attention to events in Maharashtra on June 17, when BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar offered monetary rewards totalling 1.2 million rupees for physically assaulting Christian clergy during a public gathering in Kupwad, Sangli district.
“Whoever beats the first priest will get a price of rupees five lakhs, whoever beats the second will get four lakhs and the third will get three lakhs,” Padalkar reportedly stated, according to video footage cited by the CBCI.
The bishops argued such explicit incitement constitutes a clear violation of Section 152 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s new criminal code that carries penalties up to life imprisonment for acts promoting enmity between groups and threatening national unity.
Despite the public nature of the statements and peaceful demonstrations by thousands of citizens, authorities have failed to register even a First Information Report against the legislator, the CBCI stated.
The CBCI also strongly condemned the July 25 arrest of two Catholic nuns at Durg Railway Station in Chhattisgarh. Police detained the women while they accompanied two adult women traveling with proper parental consent documentation.
The Conference highlighted that arrests proceeded despite written consent letters from parents of the accompanying girls, all over 18 years of age, with reports suggesting authorities physically assaulted the women following detention.
The CBCI pointed to a growing trend where “anti-social elements appear to be tracking the movements of Christian Religious Women, confronting them at public places like railway stations, provoking crowds, and using abusive and threatening language.”
“Such incidents not only threaten the modesty of women but also put their lives in grave danger. These repeated, unwarranted actions are a serious violation of the Constitution and cannot be tolerated,” the CBCI statement read.
When the traveling women’s parents arrived at the station, police prevented family reunification. Charges under Chhattisgarh’s Freedom of Religion Act were later added to the case despite not appearing in the original complaint.
The controversy intensified further when Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra issued a sharp rebuke of the nuns’ detention, describing it as a “grave attack on minority rights” in a Facebook statement.
“This is not an isolated case. Under BJP rule, minorities are being systematically harassed and vilified,” Gandhi stated, criticizing authorities for acting “without legal basis” on “false allegations” of conversion and trafficking.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi also weighed in on social media, posting that the nuns were “jailed in Chhattisgarh after being targeted for their faith” and describing the incident as “BJP-RSS mob rule” rather than justice.
“It reflects a dangerous pattern: systematic persecution of minorities under this regime,” Gandhi wrote in a post that garnered over 3,000 retweets within hours.
The Congress leader referenced parliamentary action, noting that UDF MPs had protested in Parliament over the issue. “We will not be silent. Religious freedom is a constitutional right. We demand their immediate release and accountability for this injustice,” Gandhi stated.
CBCI leaders contrasted the lack of action in the Maharashtra incident with swift legal responses against students, activists and opposition figures for social media posts or peaceful dissent.
“This selective enforcement represents a grave breach of the Constitution and an alarming erosion of institutional impartiality,” the bishops stated, arguing such disparities contribute to minority communities’ growing vulnerability.
The CBCI warned of broader threats to India’s constitutional order, cautioning against the “communalisation of independent institutions of Indian democracy” and expressing concerns about judicial independence. The bishops noted troubling trends including “some others sitting before deities for divine help to decide serious and highly sensitive legal issues, rather than taking recourse to the Constitution and the laws.”
“The Catholic Church will raise this issue on all appropriate platforms and will strongly oppose any attempt to malign the dignity of Religious Nuns and Priests, or to curtail religious freedom,” the CBCI affirmed, calling upon “the government of India and all political parties to rise to the occasion and take appropriate constitutional steps to save the Nation and its people.”
